USS Bellatrix (AKA-3)

USS "Bellatrix" (AK-20/AKA-3) was an "Arcturus"-class attack cargo ship in the United States Navy during World War II and the Korean War. The ship was named after the star Bellatrix in the constellation Orion. The name means "warrioress," and the star is usually named as the 22nd brightest star in the northern hemisphere.

"Bellatrix" was constructed in Florida as an AK-20 merchant marine cargo ship for the Maritime Commission under the name "Raven". In April 1941, the War Shipping Administration transferred control of the unfinished "Raven" to the U.S. Navy. She was reclassified as an AKA-3 attack cargo ship, and launched in August under the command of W.F. Dietrich.

"Bellatrix" served in the Pacific during 1942, and participated in the Battle of Guadalcanal by delivering troops and supplies to the initial attack on August 7. She made two subsequent shipments to the island, bringing both cargo and reinforcements. In 1943 she became part of the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, participating in the Allied invasion of Sicily. A subsequent shipment to the Gilbert Islands was terminated due to engine failure; "Bellatrix" returned to San Francisco for repairs.

In 1944, the repaired "Bellatrix" joined General Holland "Howling Mad" Smith's amphibious fleet moving to take the island of Saipan. On July 16, she delivered her cargo, soldiers from the U.S. Army's 27th Infantry Division, just two days before the defeat of the Japanese General, Yoshitsugu Saito.

The Battle of Saipan was "Bellatrix"'s last WWII deployment. She was decommissioned in April 1946, and returned to the Maritime Commission three months later.

"Bellatrix" was reacquired by the Navy for the Korean War. She was recommissioned 16 May 1952, and performed cargo deliveries and training missions until 1955. Decommissioned a second time, "Bellatrix" subsequently spent eight years in the Pacific Reserve Fleet before being transferred to Peru in 1963. In 1991 she was sold for scrap, having been in service for almost fifty years.

References

*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b4/bellatrix-i.htm

External links

* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-b/ak20.htm Naval Historical Center Photo entry]
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* [http://ussrankin.org/id352.htm 51 Years of AKAs]